Method of identifying a lighting fixture

ABSTRACT

Control-source devices may be associated with control-target devices of a load control system during a configuration procedure, such that the control-target devices are responsive to the associated control-source devices during normal operation. The configuration procedure may be executed using a network device having a visual display for associating the control-source devices and control-target devices. The control-source devices may be associated with the control-target devices on an area-by-area basis using an area configuration procedure. The control-target devices may be configured to flash a controlled lighting load according to a flashing profile during the configuration procedure. The flashing profile may be characterized by at least one abrupt transition between off and on, and at least one gradual transition between off and on, where the abrupt and gradual transitions are repeated on a periodic basis.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/378,998, filed Aug. 24, 2016, the entire disclosureof which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

A user environment, such as a residence or an office building forexample, may be configured using various types of load control systems.A lighting control system may be used to control the lighting loads inthe user environment. A motorized window treatment control system may beused to control the natural light provided to the user environment. Aheating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system may be used tocontrol the temperature in the user environment.

Each load control system may include various control devices, includingcontrol-source devices and control-target devices. The control-targetdevices may receive digital messages, which may include load controlinstructions, for controlling an electrical load from one or more of thecontrol-source devices. The control-target devices may be capable ofdirectly controlling an electrical load. The control-source devices maybe capable of indirectly controlling the electrical load via thecontrol-target device.

Examples of control-target devices may include lighting control devices(e.g., a dimmer switch, an electronic switch, a ballast, or alight-emitting diode (LED) driver), a motorized window treatment, atemperature control device (e.g., a thermostat), a plug-in load controldevice, and/or the like. Examples of control-source devices may includeremote control devices, occupancy sensors, daylight sensors, temperaturesensors, and/or the like.

To enable a control-target device to recognize instructions receivedfrom a control-source device, the control-target device and thecontrol-source device may be associated with one another, such that thecontrol-target device may recognize the digital messages received fromthe control-source device. The control-target device and thecontrol-source device may be associated with a location to enablecontrol of electrical loads within the location.

FIG. 1 depicts a prior art user environment in which control-sourcedevices and control-target devices may be associated. As shown in FIG.1, a user environment may include rooms 102, 104, and 106. Each of therooms 102, 104, and 106 may include control-target devices that may becapable of directly controlling an electrical load. For example, rooms102, 104, and 106 may include lighting control devices 116, 136, and 146(e.g., ballasts, LED drivers, or dimmer switches) capable of directlycontrolling an amount of power provided to lighting loads 118, 140, and150, respectively. Room 102 may include additional control-targetdevices, such as a motorized window treatment 120 for directlycontrolling the covering material 122 (e.g., via an electrical motor), aplug-in load control device 130 for directly controlling a plug-inelectrical load (e.g., lamp 132 plugged into the device 130), and atemperature control device (e.g., thermostat 134) for directlycontrolling an HVAC system.

Rooms 102, 104, and 106 may also include control-source devices capableof indirectly controlling an electrical load by transmitting digitalmessages, which may include load control instructions, to acontrol-target device. The control-source devices in rooms 102, 104, and106 may include remote control devices 124, 142, and 152 that may bemounted to the wall and that may send digital messages to the lightingcontrol devices 116, 136, and 146, respectively. The lighting controldevices 116, 136, and 146 may control an amount of power provided to thelighting loads 118, 140, and 150, respectively, based on the digitalmessages received from the remote control devices 124, 142, and 152.Room 102 may include additional control-source devices, such as anoccupancy sensor 110 and a daylight sensor 108. The occupancy sensor 110may send digital messages to a control-target device based on thedetection of movement or occupancy within its observable area. Thedaylight sensor 108 may send digital messages to a control-target devicebased on the detection of natural light within its observable area.

As indicated above, each of the control-target devices may have to beassociated with one or more control-source devices prior to being ableto receive digital messages, which may include load controlinstructions, from the control-source devices for controlling acorresponding electrical load. The control-source devices and thecontrol-target devices may be associated using a push-button associationmethod 200, which is illustrated in the block diagram in FIG. 2A. Asshown in FIG. 2A, the association method 200 may begin at 202 and a user128 (shown in FIG. 1) may actuate a button on a control-target device at204 to cause the control-target device to enter an association mode. Forexample, user 128 may actuate buttons 112, 138, and 148 on lightingcontrol devices 116, 136, and 146, respectively, to put the lightingcontrol devices 116, 136, and 146 into association mode. Once thecontrol-target device is in association mode, a button may be actuatedon a control-source device at 206 for associating the control-sourcedevice with the control-target device. For example, user 128 may actuatebutton 126 on remote control device 124 to associate the remote controldevice 124 with the lighting control device 116. The user 128 mayactuate button 116 on occupancy sensor 110 and button 114 on daylightsensor 108 to also associate each device with the lighting controldevice 116. Buttons 144 and 154 may be actuated on remote controldevices 142 and 152 to associate the remote control devices 142 and 152with lighting control devices 136 and 146, respectively. The user 128may also actuate a button on the plug-in load control device 130 or thetemperature control device (e.g., thermostat 134) to associate thesecontrol-target devices with a control-source device. After thecontrol-source device is associated with the control-target device at206, the control-target device may recognize digital messages, which mayinclude load control instructions, from a control-source device and theuser 128 may use the control-source device for instructing an associatedcontrol-target device to control an amount of power provided to anelectrical load at 208. The association method 200 may end at 210.

FIG. 2B shows another prior art association method 220 for associatingcontrol-source devices and control-target devices. As shown in FIG. 2B,the association method 220 may start at 222. At 224, each of thecontrol-source devices and control-target devices in the load controlsystem may be identified by user 128. The user 128 may enter a locationidentifier for a location of a control-source device and/or acontrol-target device at a computer, such as computer 158 (shown in FIG.1), at 226. The user 128 may enter each association between acontrol-source device and a control-target device into a computer, suchas computer 158 (shown in FIG. 1), at 228. At 230, each of thecontrol-target devices may be programmed by the user 128, via computer158, to be capable of recognizing digital messages, which may includeload control instructions, from associated control-source devices at anidentified location. For example, the computer 158 may send the locationidentifier for the location of a control-source device to thecontrol-target devices, so that the control-target devices may identifydigital messages from the control-source devices in the location. Thecomputer 158 may send a serial number of an associated control-sourcedevice to the control-target device so that the control-target devicemay identify digital messages from the control-source device. Thecomputer 158 may program the control-target device via a load controldevice controller 156, for example. Once the control-target device isprogrammed at 230, the control-target device may recognize digitalmessages from a control-source device at the identified location and theuser 128 may use the control-source device for instructing an associatedcontrol-target devices at an identified location to control an amount ofpower provided to an electrical load at 232. The association method 220may end at 234.

The association methods 200 and 220 require knowledge of each of thedevices being associated in a system. The association methods 200 and220 also require physically actuating buttons on each control-sourceand/or control-target devices and/or knowledge of the location of eachof the devices being associated in the system. Identifying the locationof each of the devices in a system may be particularly difficult, as thedevices may be installed in a location prior to assigning acommunication address for communicating load control instructions to thedevices. Such difficulties may cause the users to spend a lot of timesearching for particular devices to be configured and, once the deviceshave been found, performing lengthy configuration methods to enable thedevices to control electrical loads in a location. Accordingly, currentassociation methods may be time consuming and inconvenient.

SUMMARY

A load control system may include control devices for controlling anamount of power provided to an electrical load. The control devices mayinclude a control-source device and/or a control-target device. Thecontrol-target device may be capable of controlling the amount of powerprovided to the electrical load based on digital messages received fromthe control-source device. The digital messages may include load controlinstructions or another indication that causes the control-target deviceto determine load control instructions for controlling an electricalload. The load control system may also include a system controller formonitoring the operation of the control-source devices and/or thecontrol-target devices and transmitting digital messages includingglobal commands (e.g., demand response commands, all-off commands,timeclock event commands, etc.) to the control-target devices and/or thecontrol-source devices.

The control-source devices may be associated with the control-targetdevices during a configuration procedure, such that the control-targetdevices are responsive to the associated control-source devices duringnormal operation. The configuration procedure may be executed using anetwork device having a visual display for associating thecontrol-source devices and control-target devices. The control-sourcedevices may be associated with the control-target devices on anarea-by-area basis using an area configuration procedure. For example,the area configuration procedure may be repeated for each load controlarea (e.g., a load control environment and/or a room) of a building.Each control-source device located in the area may be associated (e.g.,individually associated) with the control-target devices that are to beresponsive to the control-source device (e.g., by stepping through eachcontrol-source device in the area one-by-one). Each control-sourcedevice may be associated with all of the control-target devices in thearea or less than all of the control-target devices in the area. Thecontrol-source devices may be associated with the control-target devicesof an area in any order. For example, a first control-source device maybe first associated with one or more control-target devices and then asecond control-source device may be associated with one or morecontrol-target devices, or vice versa.

A control device may be configured to flash a controlled lighting loadaccording to a flashing profile during the configuration procedure. Theflashing profile may be characterized by at least one abrupt transitionbetween off and a high-end intensity, and at least one gradualtransition between off and the high-end intensity, where the abrupt andgradual transitions are repeated on a periodic basis. The control devicemay be configured to flash the lighting load by: (1) generating acontrolled intensity for the lighting load; (2) decreasing thecontrolled intensity from the high-end intensity to off across a firstperiod of time; (3) after the controlled intensity has been decreasedfrom the high-end intensity to off, maintaining the controlled intensityat the off setting for a second period of time; (4) after the secondperiod of time, abruptly increasing the controlled intensity from theoff to the high-end intensity; (5) after the controlled intensity hasbeen increased from off to the high-end intensity, maintaining thecontrolled intensity at the high-end intensity for a third period oftime; and (6) periodically repeating steps 2-5 (e.g., the steps ofdecreasing, maintaining, increasing, and maintaining).

The above advantages and features are of representative embodimentsonly. They are not to be considered limitations. Additional features andadvantages of embodiments will become apparent in the followingdescription, from the drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an example prior art environment for associating load controldevices.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are simplified flow diagrams of example prior artprocesses for associating load control devices.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of an example environment for associatingcontrol devices.

FIGS. 3B and 3C are simplified block diagrams of example lightingfixtures.

FIGS. 3D and 3E are timing diagrams illustrating a first exampleflashing profile for use by a lighting control device and/or a controlmodule controlling a lighting control device to identify a particularlighting fixture.

FIGS. 3F and 3G are timing diagrams illustrating a second exampleflashing profile for use by a lighting control device and/or a controlmodule controlling a lighting control device to identify a particularlighting fixture.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example area configuration procedure forassociating control devices in a load control environment.

FIGS. 5A-5J illustrate example screenshots that may be displayed by avisual display of a network device during an area configurationprocedure.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate example screenshots that may be displayed bya visual display of a network device for configuring operationalsettings of an area.

FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate example screenshots that may be displayed by avisual display of a network device for configuring a control device ofarea.

FIG. 8 illustrates another example screenshot displayed by a visualdisplay of a network device for configuring a preset for a button of acontrol device in an area having more than one type of load controldevice.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example network device.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an example system controller.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an example control-target device.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an example control-source device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 3A depicts a representative load control environment 300 (e.g., aload control area) for associating control devices, which may includecontrol-source devices and/or control-target devices. As shown in FIG.3A, room 302 in a building may be installed with one or morecontrol-target devices, e.g., load control devices for controlling theelectrical loads within a room or building. Each load control device maybe capable of directly controlling the amount of power provided to anelectrical load and may be controlled by a control-source device.Example control-target devices may include lighting control devices(e.g., ballasts, LED drivers, or dimmer switches) for controlling theamount of power provided to lighting loads, a motorized window treatmenthaving a motor drive unit (e.g., including a motor) for controlling theposition of a covering material, a temperature control device (e.g.,thermostat) for controlling an HVAC system, and/or an plug-in loadcontrol device for controlling a plug-in electrical load. For example,the room 302 may include a plurality of lighting fixtures 310, 312, 314,316 that may each include a lighting load (e.g., an LED light source)and a respective lighting control device (e.g., an LED driver) forcontrolling the lighting load of the lighting fixture. In addition, theroom 302 may include a plug-in load control device 320 for controlling aplug-in electrical load, such as a floor lamp 322, a table lamp oranother electrical device that is plugged in to the plug-in load controldevice 320. The plug-in load control device 320 may be plugged into anelectrical receptacle 324.

Control devices (e.g., a control-source device and/or a control-targetdevice) may communicate with each other and/or other devices via a wiredand/or a wireless communication link. For example, the control devicesmay communicate via radio frequency (RF) signals 304, which may betransmitted via any known RF communication technology and/or protocol(e.g., near field communication (NFC); BLUETOOTH®; WI-FI®); and/or aproprietary communication channel, such as CLEAR CONNECT™, etc.). Acontrol device may be both a control-target and a control-source device.

A control-source device may be an input device that indirectly controlsthe amount of power provided to an electrical load by transmittingdigital messages to the control-target device. The digital messages mayinclude control instructions (e.g., load control instructions) oranother indication that causes the control-target device to determineload control instructions for controlling an electrical load. Examplecontrol-source devices may include a remote control device 330, anoccupancy sensor 332, and/or a daylight sensor 334. The control-sourcedevices may include a wired or wireless device. The control-sourcedevices may include a control device, such as a dimmer switch, anelectronic switch, or the like.

FIG. 3B is a simplified block diagram of a first example lightingfixture 360 (which may be deployed as one or more of the lightingfixtures 310, 312, 314, 316 shown in FIG. 3A). The lighting fixture 360may include a lighting load 362 (e.g., an LED light source) and a loadcontrol device, such as a lighting control device 364 (e.g., an LEDdriver or a ballast). The lighting control device 364 may receive analternating-current (AC) line voltage from an AC power source (notshown). The lighting control device 364 may include an internal loadcontrol circuit for controlling the amount of power delivered to thelighting load 362 to thus control the intensity of the lighting load362. The lighting control device 364 may be configured to turn thelighting load 362 on and off (i.e., 0% intensity), and to adjust theintensity of the lighting load between a high-end intensity L_(HE)(e.g., a maximum intensity, such as 100%) and a low-end intensity L_(LE)(e.g., a minimum intensity, such as 1%-10%, and/or an intensity that isapproximately 1%-10%). The lighting control device 364 may be configuredto gradually (e.g., linearly) adjust the intensity of the lighting loadbetween two intensities (e.g., at a fade rate). The lighting controldevice 364 may be configured to transmit and receive messages (e.g.,digital messages) via a communication link (e.g., a wired or wirelesscommunication link). For example, the lighting control device 364 may becoupled to a communication module 365, which may be located outside ofthe lighting fixture 360 and may be configured to transmit and receivewireless signals (e.g., the RF signals 304 shown in FIG. 3A). Inaddition, the lighting control device 364 may be configured to transmitand receive the RF signals 304 directly. The lighting control device 364may be configured to operate as a control-target device to control theintensity of the lighting load 362 in response to commands in messagesreceived via the communication link.

FIG. 3C is a simplified block diagram of a second example lightingfixture 370 (which also may be deployed as one or more of the lightingfixtures 310, 312, 314, 316 shown in FIG. 3A). The lighting fixture 370may include a lighting load 372 (e.g., an LED light source), a lightingcontrol device 374 (e.g., an LED driver or a ballast), and a controlmodule 376. The lighting control device 374 may be configured to receiveAC line voltage and provide power to the lighting load 372 via a powerwiring 378. Power wiring 378 may or may not pass through control module376. The lighting control device 374 may include an internal loadcontrol circuit for controlling the amount of power delivered to thelighting load 372 to control the intensity of the lighting load. Thelighting control device 374 may be configured to turn the lighting load372 on and off (i.e., 0% intensity), and to adjust the intensity of thelighting load between a high-end intensity L_(HE) (e.g., a maximumintensity, such as 100%) and a low-end intensity L_(LE) (e.g., a minimumintensity, such as 1%-10%, and/or an intensity that is approximately1%-10%). The lighting control device 374 may be configured to gradually(e.g., linearly) adjust the intensity of the lighting load between twointensities (e.g., at a fade rate). The lighting control device 374 maynot be configured to transmit and receive digital messages via the RFsignals 304 (e.g., the load control device may not be configured tocommunicate using the protocol of the RF signals 304). Rather, thelighting control device 374 may be responsive to a control signalreceived via a control wiring 379 (e.g., an analog control signal, a0-10V control signal, a pulse-width modulated (PWM) control signal, aphase-control signal, a digital message transmitted via a standardprotocol, or another type of control signal).

The control module 376 may be configured to transmit and receivemessages (e.g., digital messages) via a communication link (e.g., awired or wireless communication link). For example, the control module376 may be coupled to a communication module 375, which may be locatedoutside of the lighting fixture 370 and may be configured to transmitand receive the RF signals 304. In addition, the control module 376 maybe configured to transmit and receive the RF signals 304 directly inwhich case the control module 376 and the communication module 375 maybe viewed as an integral (e.g., one) device. The integral control module376 may be located outside or at least partially outside fixture 370.The control module 376 may be configured to operate as a control-targetdevice. The control module 376 may be configured to generate the controlsignal provided to the lighting control device 374 via the controlwiring 379 to control the intensity of the lighting load 372 in responseto commands in messages received via the communication link. The controlmodule 376 may comprise an internal load control circuit (e.g., aswitching circuit, such as a relay) for controllably providing power tothe lighting control device 374. An example of a lighting fixture havinga control module for controlling a load control device is described ingreater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. Patent Application PublicationNo. 2016/0028320, published Jan. 28, 2016, entitled AUTOMATICCONFIGURATION OF A LOAD CONTROL SYSTEM, the entire disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated by reference.

Referring back to FIG. 3A, the remote control device 330 may be awireless device capable of controlling a control-target device viawireless communications. The remote control device 330 may be attachedto the wall or detached from the wall. Examples of remote controldevices are described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,919,issued Sep. 29, 1993, entitled LIGHTING CONTROL DEVICE; issued U.S. Pat.No. 8,471,779, issued Jun. 25, 2013, entitled COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL FORA RADIO-FREQUENCY LOAD CONTROL SYSTEM; and U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2014/0132475, published May 15, 2014, entitled WIRELESSLOAD CONTROL DEVICE, the entire disclosures of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

The occupancy sensor 332 may be configured to detect occupancy andvacancy conditions in the load control environment 300 in which the loadcontrol system is installed. The occupancy sensor 332 may transmitdigital messages to control-target devices via the RF communicationsignals 304 in response to detecting the occupancy or vacancyconditions. The occupancy sensor 332 may operate as a vacancy sensor,such that digital messages are transmitted in response to detecting avacancy condition (e.g., digital messages may not be transmitted inresponse to detecting an occupancy condition). The occupancy sensor 332may enter an association mode and may transmit association messages viathe RF communication signals 304 in response to actuation of a button onthe occupancy sensor 332. Examples of RF load control systems havingoccupancy and vacancy sensors are described in greater detail incommonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 8,009,042, issued Aug. 30, 2011,entitled RADIO-FREQUENCY LIGHTING CONTROL SYSTEM WITH OCCUPANCY SENSING;U.S. Pat. No. 8,199,010, issued Jun. 12, 2012, entitled METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR CONFIGURING A WIRELESS SENSOR; and U.S. Pat. No.8,228,184, issued Jul. 24, 2012, entitled BATTERY-POWERED OCCUPANCYSENSOR, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

The daylight sensor 334 may be configured to measure a total lightintensity in the load control environment 300 in which the load controlsystem is installed. The daylight sensor 334 may transmit digitalmessages including the measured light intensity via the RF communicationsignals 304 for controlling control-target devices in response to themeasured light intensity. The daylight sensor 334 may enter anassociation mode and may transmit association messages via the RFcommunication signals 304 in response to actuation of a button on thedaylight sensor 334. Examples of RF load control systems having daylightsensors are described in greater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat.No. 8,410,706, issued Apr. 2, 2013, entitled METHOD OF CALIBRATING ADAYLIGHT SENSOR; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,451,116, issued May 28, 2013,entitled WIRELESS BATTERY-POWERED DAYLIGHT SENSOR, the entiredisclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

The load control environment 300 may include other types ofcontrol-source devices, such as, for example, temperature sensors,humidity sensors, radiometers, window sensors, cloudy-day sensors,shadow sensors, pressure sensors, smoke detectors, carbon monoxidedetectors, air-quality sensors, motion sensors, security sensors,proximity sensors, fixture sensors, partition sensors, keypads,multi-zone control units, slider control units, kinetic or solar-poweredremote controls, key fobs, cell phones, smart phones, tablets, personaldigital assistants, personal computers, laptops, timeclocks,audio-visual controls, safety devices, power monitoring devices (e.g.,power meters, energy meters, utility submeters, utility rate meters,etc.), central control transmitters, residential controllers, commercialcontrollers, industrial controllers, or any combination of inputdevices.

The load control environment 300 may include a system controller 340operable to transmit and/or receive digital messages via wired and/orwireless communications. For example, the system controller 340 may beconfigured to transmit and/or receive the RF communication signals 304,to communicate with one or more control devices (e.g., control-sourcedevices and/or control-target devices). The system controller 340 may becoupled to one or more wired control devices (e.g., control-sourcedevices and/or control-target devices) via a wired digital communicationlink(s). The system controller 340 may be on-site at the load controlenvironment 300 or at a remote location. Though the system controller340 is shown as a single device, the load control environment 300 mayinclude multiple system controllers and/or the functionality thereof maybe distributed across multiple devices.

The system controller 340 may also, or alternatively, communicate via RFcommunication signals 306 (e.g., NFC; BLUETOOTH®; WI-FI®); cellular;and/or a proprietary communication channel, such as CLEAR CONNECT™,etc.). The system controller 340 may communicate over the Internet, orother network, using RF communication signals 306. The RF communicationsignals 306 may be transmitted using a different protocol and/orwireless band than the RF communication signals 304. For example, the RFcommunication signals 306 may be transmitted using WI-FI® or cellularsignals and the RF communication signals 304 may be transmitted usinganother RF communication protocol, such as BLUETOOTH® or a proprietarycommunication protocol. The RF communication signals 306 may betransmitted using the same protocol and/or wireless band as the RFcommunication signals 304. For example, the RF communication signals 304and the RF communication signals 306 may be transmitted using WI-FI® ora proprietary communication protocol.

The system controller 340 may be configured to transmit and receivedigital messages between control devices. For example, the systemcontroller 340 may transmit digital messages to the control-targetdevices in response to the digital messages received from thecontrol-source devices. The digital messages may include associationinformation for being stored at the control devices or controlinstructions for controlling an electrical load. The controlinstructions may be used to control the electrical load of acontrol-target device or to control the electrical load according tocontrol configuration information. The system controller 340 may receivecontrol instructions from a control-source device and may perform alookup of the control-target devices associated with the control-sourcedevice. The system controller 340 may send digital messages that includecontrol instructions to the associated control-target devices forcontrolling electrical loads.

Once a control-source device is associated with a control-target device,the control-source device may send digital messages to thecontrol-target device to cause the control-target device to control anamount of power provided to an electric load. For example, theassociated remote control device 330 may instruct the lighting controldevice of the lighting fixture 310 to increase or decrease the lightinglevel of the respective lighting load. The associated occupancy sensor322 may send similar instructions to a control-target device based onthe detection of movement or occupancy within the room 302. The daylightsensor 334 may send similar digital messages to a control-target devicebased on the detection of natural light within the room 302.

The control devices may discover and/or perform association with thesystem controller 340. The control devices may send association messagesto the system controller 340 and/or the system controller 340 may sendassociation messages to the control devices. An identifier of the systemcontroller 340 may be stored at the control devices for detectingcommunications from the system controller 340.

The system controller 340 may include control configuration informationaccording to which one or more control-target devices may be controlled.For example, control configuration information may include presetconfigurations. The system controller 340 may generate digital messagesaccording to the preset configurations to set a dimming level of thelighting loads of the lighting fixtures 310, 312, 314, 316 to apredefined level. Different presets may be configured to controldifferent control-target devices to control a corresponding electricalload differently. Example preset configurations may include a bedtimepreset for when a user is going to bed, a movie watching preset for whena user is watching television or a movie, an away preset for when a useris away from the building, a home preset for when the user is in thebuilding, or other preset configurations a user may define for anoccasion.

The control configuration information may include zone configurations.The zone configurations may define one or more zones in which acontrol-target device is defined for being controlled. The zones may bea group of control devices for being associated that have a groupidentifier. The control-target devices in different zones may beseparately controlled by sending digital messages having controlinstructions for controlling each zone. Different zones may beidentified by a zone identifier (e.g., group identifier) that may bestored at the system controller 340 and/or the control devices in thezone. Each zone may be defined as a location having a zone identifierthat is a location identifier. Though the zone may be described hereinas a location having a location identifier, other zone configurationsmay be similarly implemented as described herein for locations.

The load control environment 300 may include a network device 350. Thenetwork device 350 may perform wired and/or wireless communications.Examples of the network device 350 may include a wireless phone, atablet, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wearable device(e.g., a watch, glasses, etc.), or another computing device. The networkdevice 350 may be a user device operated by a user 352. The networkdevice 350 may include a visual display 354 for displaying informationfor the user 352 and may be configured to receive user inputs from theuser. The network device 350 may communicate wirelessly by sendingdigital messages on RF communication signals 306 (e.g., WI-FI® signals,WI-MAX® signals, cellular signals, etc.). The network device 350 maycommunicate digital messages in response to a user actuation of one ormore buttons on the network device 350. Examples of load control systemshaving WI-FI®-enabled devices, such as smart phones and tablet devices,are described in greater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2013/0030589, published Jan. 31, 2013,entitled LOAD CONTROL DEVICE HAVING INTERNET CONNECTIVITY, and U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/796,486, filed Mar. 12, 2013, entitledNETWORK ACCESS COORDINATION OF LOAD CONTROL DEVICES, the entiredisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The network device 350 may communicate with the system controller 340using digital messages transmitted via RF communication signals 306(e.g., WI-FI® signals, WI-MAX® signals, cellular signals, etc.) to allowthe network device 350 to associate control devices (e.g.,control-source devices and/or control-target devices) and/or controlelectrical loads. When the RF communication signals 304 and the RFcommunication signals 306 communicate on the same communication protocoland/or the same band, the network device 350 may operate as the systemcontroller 340, as described herein.

The network device 350 may execute an application locally for displayinginformation received from the system controller 340 and/or receivinguser input for communicating information to the system controller 340.The system controller 340 may be accessed from the network device 350via a web interface (e.g., a web browser) and/or via a controlapplication (e.g., a load control application and/or a configurationapplication) at the network device 350, for example. The user 352 maygenerate and store association information on the network device 350 forassociating control-source devices and control-target devices.

The association information may be stored in the form of a table ordatabase that associates a unique identifier (e.g., serial number) of acontrol-target device with a location and/or a unique identifier (e.g.,serial number) of one or more control-source devices. The associationinformation may include a device type identifier that indicates a devicetype of the control-target device (e.g., lighting control device,motorized window treatment, plug-in load control device, temperaturecontrol device, etc.) and/or a device type of the control-source devices(e.g., remote control device, occupancy sensor, daylight sensor, windowsensor, etc.). The association information may be sent from the networkdevice 350 to the system controller 340. The system controller 340 maystore the association information. The system controller 340 mayidentify the association information corresponding to eachcontrol-target device by identifying the unique identifier of thecontrol-target device and the corresponding associated devices (e.g.,unique identifiers of the control-source devices) to transmit theassociation information to each control-target device for storagethereon. The system controller 340 may identify other information, suchas control configuration information, corresponding to eachcontrol-target device and may transmit the information to eachcontrol-target device for storage thereon, such that the control-targetdevices may respond according to the information.

The control devices may be associated with a location for enablingcontrol of electrical loads in the location. The control devices mayalso be associated with other control devices in the location forenabling the control of the electrical loads. For example, a controldevice may be associated with a location by storing a locationidentifier at the control device, such that the control device maydetect digital messages sent to control devices in the identifiedlocation. The control device (e.g., control-target device) may beassociated with other control devices (e.g., control-source devices) bystoring an identifier of the control devices, such that the controldevice (e.g., control-target device) may detect digital messages sentfrom associated control devices (e.g., control-source devices) forcontrolling an electrical load. When a control-target device isassociated with a control-source device, the control target device maybe responsive to the control-source device.

The location of control devices may be discovered relative to thelocation of other control devices in the load control environment.Control devices (e.g., control-source devices and/or control-targetdevices) may send a message within a discovery range that may bereceived by other control devices within the discovery range. Themessage may be a dedicated discovery message that may be identified by areceiving device as a discovery message or another message that may betransmitted in the load control environment 300 and may be interpretedas a discovery message. For example, the message may be an associationmessage for associating devices in the load control environment 300,and/or the message may be a control message for controlling devices inthe load control environment 300.

A control device that sends a discovery message (e.g., dedicateddiscovery message or a message otherwise interpreted as a discoverymessage) may be identified as a load control discovery device. The loadcontrol discovery device may be a device that performs one or moreactivities. For example, the load control discovery device may be acontrol-source device (e.g., the remote control device 330) thatcontrols the amount of power provided to an electrical load bytransmitting digital messages to the control-target device and/or acontrol device that sends a discovery message to one or more controldevices.

The load control discovery device may be a dedicated load controldiscovery device. For example, the dedicated load control discoverydevice may be a device (e.g., a control device) that may be used forsending a discovery message to control devices and/or system controller340 during a dedicated discovery mode. The discovery message may be amessage used for discovering control devices and/or system controller340. The discovery message may be a message used for one or moreactivities. For example, the discovery message may be a messageconfigured to discover control devices and/or system controller 340,and/or the discovery message may be a message configured to associate acontrol device with another control device and/or the system controller340. The discovery message may be a control message configured todiscover control devices and to control a control device with anothercontrol device. The dedicated discovery mode may be enabled for a periodof time, may be enabled/disabled upon receipt of an indication by auser, and/or may be configured as a static mode on the dedicateddiscovery device.

The discovery range may correspond to a transmission power (e.g., anadjustable transmission power) of the load control discovery device. Theload control discovery device may be preconfigured for a location. Forexample, the load control discovery device may be stored as the loadcontrol discovery device for an identified location at the systemcontroller 340, at the load control discovery device, and/or otherdevices at an identified location. The discovery message sent by theload control discovery device may be received by other devices, such asother control devices and/or the system controller 340.

The other devices may receive the discovery message and determinewhether the discovery message is received at a signal strength that isabove a reception power threshold (e.g., a predefined signal strength).The predetermined signal strength may be received from the systemcontroller 340 and/or may be preconfigured at the time of manufacture.The control devices that receive the discovery message may report thereceipt of the discovery message. The control devices that receive thediscovery message may report the received signal strength of thediscovery message. The control devices may report the receipt of thediscovery message and/or the received signal strength to another controldevice (e.g., control-source device, control-target device, etc.). Thecontrol devices that receive the discovery message may report thereceipt of the discovery message and/or the received signal strength tothe system controller 340. The control device and/or the systemcontroller 340 may store the control devices that receive the discoverymessage and provide an identifier of the control devices to the networkdevice 350. The network device 350 may display the control devices tothe user 352 for association with a location and/or other controldevices.

Devices may receive the discovery message and determine whether thediscovery message is received within a discovery range and/or adiscovery zone. The discovery range may be partitioned into one or morediscovery zones. The discovery zones may be identified by the receivedsignal strength at which the discovery message may be received, and/orthe discovery zones may be identified by another identifier, such as thetransmission power of the discovery message and/or a threshold value(e.g., the reception power threshold value). The discovery messages maybe transmitted within the discovery range and may identify a discoveryzone within which devices may respond. The discovery zone may beidentified by a received signal strength or range of received signalstrengths for which control devices may respond if the discovery messageis received at the identified signal strength.

The discovery message transmitted by the load control discovery devicemay be a broadcast message that may be broadcast within the establisheddiscovery range. The discovery message may include informationidentifying the load control discovery device from which the discoverymessage was transmitted. The discovery message may indicate the type ofcontrol device (e.g., remote control device, occupancy sensor, lightingcontrol device, etc.), a unique identifier (e.g., serial number) thatmay identify the load control discovery device, the link address forcommunicating with the load control discovery device directly, whetherthe device is a control-target device or a control-source device, and/orother information about the device.

The discovery range may be dependent upon the transmission power and/ora range of transmission powers of the transmitting device. For example,the discovery range may be based on a transmission power at whichdigital messages are transmitted from the load control discovery deviceor a distance for which the digital messages are to be transmitted. Thetransmission power of the transmitting device may be adjustable in orderto adjust the area of the discovery range.

The discovery range may also, or alternatively, be dependent on athreshold. For example, the discovery range may be dependent on areception power threshold of the receiving device. For example, thediscovery range may be dependent upon the signal strength at which thecontrol devices receive digital messages from the load control discoverydevice. The signal strength may be a signal strength indicated as areceived signal strength indicator (RSSI) at each of the receivingdevices. The RSSI may be defined as a measure of the power level that areceiving device is receiving digital messages from the transmittingdevice. The receiving devices may each compare the RSSI of a receivedmessage to the reception power threshold (which may be stored in memoryin each receiving device) and may respond to the received message if theRSSI is greater than the reception power threshold. The reception powerthreshold of each receiving device may be adjustable in order to adjustthe area of the discovery range. For example, the discovery message mayinclude a reception power threshold to which the receiving controldevice may compare the RSSI of the received signal (e.g., the discoverymessage).

The discovery range may be partitioned into multiple discovery zoneshaving different RSSI values and/or ranges. For example, the discoveryrange may be broken up into discovery zones that each correlate todifferent groups of devices (e.g., devices that receive the discoverymessage at the same signal strength and/or within the same range ofsignal strengths). Selecting control devices within a particulardiscovery zone or zones may limit the number of devices transmitting aresponse at the same time to reduce or preclude interference fromoccurring between devices located within different discovery zones. Thecontrol devices in different zones that respond to discovery messagesmay be aggregated by selecting control devices from more than onediscovery zone. The control devices in different zones may be displayedto the user and/or provided to the control devices independently, e.g.,based upon the location of the control devices in the different zones.

The transmission power of the load control discovery device may definethe discovery range. The discovery range may be defined according to aminimum signal strength (e.g., minimum RSSI) to a maximum signalstrength (e.g., maximum RSSI). The minimum signal strength may definethe outer edge of the discovery range. The maximum signal strength maydefine an inner region (e.g., region inside of the discovery range),inside of which devices may not respond to the discovery message. Themaximum signal strength may be set such that the inner region is small(e.g., zero feet from the load control discovery device). Thetransmission of the load control discovery device may begin at the innerregion, e.g., the load control discovery device may begin transmissionat zero feet from the load control discovery device, and incrementallytransmit beyond zero feet from the load control discovery device.

Control devices within the discovery range may respond to a discoverymessage transmitted from the load control discovery device. Each controldevice may calculate the RSSIs of each respective discovery messagereceived. One or more control devices may organize the control devicesaccording to the RSSIs of each respective discovery message received.The system controller 340 and/or the network device 350 may organize thecontrol devices. For example, system controller 340 and/or the networkdevice 350 may organize the control devices according to the RSSIs ofeach respective discovery message received. Control devices that receivethe discovery message in a signal having an RSSI above the receptionpower threshold may be within the discovery range, and control devicesthat receive the discovery message in a signal having an RSSI below thereception power threshold may be outside the discovery range.

The discovery range may be affected by interference. For example, awall, floor, or ceiling separating rooms may cause interference. Acontrol device receiving the discovery message within a same discoveryrange and/or a same discovery zone as another control device may causeinterference. Interference may degrade the signal strength of adiscovery message. Such degradation may reduce the discovery range of adiscovery message transmitted from a load control discovery device. Thediscovery range may be degraded by the wall between the room 302 andadjacent rooms, as well as by the ceiling and floor between the room 302and adjacent rooms.

The transmission of the discovery message may be triggered by actuationof a button on the load control discovery device and/or receipt of adiscovery trigger message. For example, the load control discoverydevice may be identified as remote control device 330 and/or the loadcontrol discovery device may be identified as a dedicated load controldiscovery device. The user 352 may actuate a button (e.g., for apredefined period of time), a sequence of buttons, and/or perform othercommands on the load control discovery device to transmit the discoverymessage. Actuation of a button for different periods of time may causethe load control discovery device to be set to different modes. Forexample, actuating a button for three seconds on load control discoverydevice (e.g., remote control device 330) may cause the load controldiscovery device to be set to an association mode, in which the loadcontrol discovery device may send an association message to acontrol-target device. Actuating a button for six seconds on the loadcontrol discovery device (e.g., remote control device 330), in theexample, may cause the load control discovery device to be set to adiscovery mode, in which the load control discovery device may send adiscovery message to a control-target device. The load control discoverydevice may also, or alternatively, receive a discovery trigger messagefrom the system controller 340 or the network device 350. The networkdevice 350 may receive an actuation of a button by the user 352 and maytransmit a discovery trigger message to the load control discoverydevice or an indication to the system controller 340 to transmit thediscovery trigger message.

The transmission of the discovery message may be performed by sensors inthe load control environment. For example, the load control discoverydevice may be an occupancy sensor that may transmit digital messagesupon identification of an occupancy condition (e.g., occupied room)and/or a vacancy condition (e.g., unoccupied room). The occupancycondition and/or the vacancy condition may be interpreted by otherdevices as a discovery message (e.g., when the devices are in adiscovery mode). A user may enter or leave a room to triggertransmission of a discovery message in a location of the occupancysensor to discover devices in that location.

The control devices receiving the discovery message from the loadcontrol discovery device may be two-way communication devices (e.g., thelighting control devices in the lighting fixtures 310, 312, 314, 316)that may receive the discovery message and may acknowledge receipt ofthe discovery message to the system controller 340. The control devicesmay identify the discovery message as being from the load controldiscovery device and may store an indication of receipt of the discoverymessage. The control devices may identify the discovery message by adevice identifier of the load control discovery device that isunassociated with the control devices, a device identifier of the loadcontrol discovery device that is associated with the control devices andidentified as the load control discovery device, and/or a discoverymessage identifier. The control devices may store the signal strength(e.g., received signal strength indication (RSSI)) at which thediscovery message is received and/or the control devices may store athreshold value (e.g., the reception power threshold value). The controldevices may report the signal strength to one or more other devices,and/or the control devices may report to one or more devices whether thesignal strength is below or above the reception power threshold. Forexample, the control devices may report the signal strength to othercontrol devices, to network device 350, and/or to system controller 340.The control devices may also, or alternatively, report whether thesignal strength is below or above the reception power threshold. Thereceipt of the discovery message may be reported if the signal strength(e.g., the RSSI) is above the threshold (e.g., the predefined receptionpower threshold).

The control devices that are one-way communication devices (e.g., theremote control device 330, the occupancy sensor 332, the daylight sensor334, etc.) may be unable to receive the discovery message. The one-waycommunication devices may transmit a discovery message to the loadcontrol discovery device and/or the system controller 340 for beingdetected and/or associated. The discovery messages may include theidentifier of the transmitting device. To transmit the discoverymessage, the user 352 may actuate a button on the one-way communicationdevice. The user 352 may actuate a button on the remote control device330, a button on the occupancy sensor 332, a button on the daylightsensor 334, and/or the like. To trigger the transmission of discoveryinformation at the occupancy sensor 332 and/or the daylight sensor 334,the user 352 may also, or alternatively, transmit a laser signalidentifiable by the occupancy sensor and/or the daylight sensor. Thoughsome control devices may be described as two-way communication devices,any control device may include a button for transmitting a discoverymessage.

As the load control discovery device may receive messages from controldevices, the two-way communication devices may also send a discoverymessage or a response to the discovery message transmitted from the loadcontrol discovery device. The load control discovery device maydetermine the signal strength at which the messages from the controldevices are received. The load control discovery device may internallyrecord the identified devices and/or the signal strengths. The loadcontrol discovery device may provide the identified devices and/or thesignal strengths to the system controller 340 and/or the network device350. Though certain devices may be described as one-way communicationdevices or two-way communication devices, the devices may be configuredfor either one-way or two-way communication.

The system controller 340 and/or the network device 350 may be used tocoordinate the discovery and association of control devices in alocation. The user 352 may actuate a button on the network device 350 todiscover devices in a location and the network device may requestdiscovery information from the system controller 340. The systemcontroller 340 may receive the request and may transmit a digitalmessage to put the control devices in a discovery mode. The digitalmessage that puts the control devices in the discovery mode may be thesame message as the discovery trigger message for triggering thediscovery message at the load control discovery device, or may be adifferent message. Once in the discovery mode, the control devices mayknow to listen for the discovery message. The user 352 may actuate abutton on a control device to enter the discovery mode. For example, theuser may actuate a button or buttons (e.g., for a predefined period oftime) on the load control discovery device to send a digital message tothe system controller 340 and/or other control devices to enter thediscovery mode.

The control devices may transmit a digital message to the systemcontroller 340 to acknowledge receipt of the discovery message. Thedigital messages may include the device identifier of the load controldiscovery device and/or a signal strength at which the discovery messagewas received. The digital messages may be sent to the system controller340 in response to a request from the system controller 340 (e.g., afterthe system controller receives the discovery message itself). Therequest from the system controller 340 may include a request toacknowledge receipt of a message from a device having the deviceidentifier of the load control discovery device and/or the receivedsignal strength of the message. The request from the system controller340 may include a request to acknowledge receipt of the discoverymessage from the load control discovery device and/or the receivedsignal strength of the message if the discovery message was received ata signal strength above a predefined threshold (e.g., the receptionpower threshold). The request from the system controller 340 may includea request for device identifiers of unassociated devices from whichmessages have been received (e.g., since entering the discovery mode)and/or the received signal strength of the messages. The request fromthe system controller 340 may include a request for device identifiersof load control discovery devices from which messages have been received(e.g., since entering the discovery mode) and/or the received signalstrength of the message.

The system controller 340 may provide the discovered devices to thenetwork device 350 for display to the user 352. The system controller340 may organize the discovered devices for display to the user 352 forperforming association. The system controller 340 may organize thediscovered control devices in an organized dataset (e.g., ascending ordescending list) that is organized by the signal strength at which thediscovery message was received at each device. The system controller 340may remove any devices from the dataset that receive the discoverymessage at a signal strength below a predefined threshold (e.g., thereception power threshold). The system controller 340 may include apredefined number of devices in the dataset that have the greatestsignal strength. The system controller 340 may send the organizeddataset to the network device 350 for displaying to the user 352.

Though the coordination of discovery and/or association of controldevices is described herein as being performed at the system controller340, such functionality may be implemented in the control devicesthemselves. One or more control devices (e.g., lighting control devicesin the lighting fixtures 310, 312, 314, 316, remote control device 330,etc.) may be used to coordinate the discovery and/or association ofcontrol devices (e.g., control devices within a location). A centralcontrol device or control devices may receive the request to put thecontrol devices in a discovery mode and may transmit a digital messageto put the control devices in the discovery mode. The digital messagemay be sent to control devices neighboring the central control device orcontrol devices. The digital message that puts the control devices inthe discovery mode may be the same message as the discovery triggermessage for triggering the discovery message at the load controldiscovery device, or may be a different message. Once in the discoverymode, the control devices may know to listen for the discovery message.The central control device or control devices may collect the discoveryinformation (e.g., acknowledgement of receipt of the discovery messageand/or the signal strength at which the discovery message was received)from the other control devices and may provide the discovery informationto the network device 350. The central control device or control devicesmay receive association information from the network device 350 and sendthe association information, or relevant portions thereof, to the othercontrol devices.

The network device 350 may organize the discovered devices for displayto the user 352 for performing association. The network device 350 mayorganize the discovered control devices in an organized dataset (e.g.,ascending or descending list) that is organized by the signal strengthat which the discovery message was received at each device. For example,the network device 350 may first display control devices that receivedthe discovery message with the highest RSSIs, followed in descendingorder by the devices that received the discovery message with lowerRSSIs. The network device 350 may remove any devices from the datasetthat received the discovery message at a signal strength below apredefined threshold (e.g., the reception power threshold). The networkdevice 350 may include a predefined number of devices in the datasetthat have the greatest signal strength.

The user 352 may select control devices (e.g., lighting control devicesin the lighting fixtures 310, 312, 314, 316) from the discovered devicesdisplayed on the network device 350. The selected control devices may beassociated with the load control discovery device that was used todiscover the control devices with the discovery range. The networkdevice 350 may generate association information regarding the loadcontrol discovery device and the selected control devices in response tothe inputs received from the user 352. The selected control devices mayalso be associated with a control device (e.g., a control-source device)other than the load control discovery device.

The user 352 may configure association information and/or controlconfiguration information for discovered control devices at the networkdevice 350. The discovered control devices may be associated with one ormore location identifiers that identify locations in the load controlenvironment 300. The locations may be identified by the user 352 (e.g.,from a list of predefined locations) or may be a predefined location orlocations associated with the load control discovery device (e.g., thelocation in which the load control discovery device is installed).

The network device 350 may access the association information stored atthe system controller 340. The association information may includedevice identifiers of the discovered devices, location identifiers ofthe discovered devices, and/or identifiers of associated controldevices. The user 352 may disassociate discovered control devices frompreviously associated control devices by making selections on thenetwork device 350. The user 352 may associate discovered controldevices with other control devices by making selections on the networkdevice 350.

The user 352 may access the control configuration information stored atthe system controller 340. The user 352 may edit currently storedcontrol configuration information for discovered control devices bymaking selections on the network device 350. The user 352 may generateand store control configuration information for discovered controldevices by making selections on the network device 350.

The network device 350 may transmit the association information and/orcontrol configuration information to the system controller 340 (e.g.,upon actuation of a button by the user 352). The system controller 340may store the updated association information and/or controlconfiguration information thereon. The system controller 340 maytransmit the association information and/or control configurationinformation to the control devices to update the association informationand/or control configuration information stored at the control devices.The system controller 340 may broadcast the updated associationinformation and/or control configuration information to the controldevices for the control devices to identify updated correspondingassociation information and/or control configuration information, ifany, for being stored locally thereon.

A control-target device (e.g., one of the lighting control devices ofthe lighting fixtures 310, 312, 314, 136) may be identified as the loadcontrol discovery device. One of the lighting control devices of thelighting fixtures 301, 312, 314, 316 may be identified as the loadcontrol discovery device at the system controller 340 and/or thelighting control device itself. The load control discovery device may bepredefined for a location or switched between control devices. The loadcontrol discovery device may be switched between control devices via acommand from the network device 350 (e.g., a command from the networkdevice 350 to the system controller 340). The user 352 may select thecontrol device to be identified as the load control discovery device,and the identifier of the selected control device may be stored as theload control discovery device (e.g., at the system controller 340, thenetwork device 350, the control device identified as the load controldiscovery device, and/or other control devices). One of the lightingcontrol devices of the lighting fixtures 310, 312, 314, 316 may beidentified as the load control discovery device to discover a differentset of control devices than was identified by another device, such asthe remote control device 330.

The organized dataset may be deleted, reorganized, and/or rebuilt afterthe load control discovery device is switched. For example, theorganized dataset may be deleted if a load discovery device isdisassociated from one or more control devices, and/or if the loadcontrol discovery device is configured in a manner that would affectsignal strengths at which the control devices receive the discoverymessage from a different load control discovery device.

The organized dataset may also be reorganized, e.g., if control devicesare associated and/or disassociated with the load control discoverydevice, and/or if signal strengths at which the control devices receivethe discovery message from a different load control discovery devicechange over time. For example, the organized dataset may be reorganizedto account for a device being associated with another load controldiscovery device, wherein the discovery messages received from anassociated load control discovery device has a signal strength that isgreater than, or less than, discovery messages from previouslyassociated load control discovery devices. The organized dataset may bereorganized if the same control devices are disassociated from a loadcontrol discovery device, e.g., if a load control discovery device isremoved from a room or control devices are associated with another loadcontrol discovery device.

The organized dataset may be rebuilt. The rebuilt organized dataset maybe in addition to, or in place of, pre-existing organized datasets. Forexample, the organized dataset may be rebuilt if one control device isremoved as the load control device, and another control device isassigned as the load control device. The organized dataset may berebuilt, e.g., to account for the load control device havingassociations that are different than previous associations.

The discovery range for different types of load control discoverydevices may be the same or different. The user 352 may establish thediscovery range at the network device 350 or the discovery range may bepredefined. If the discovery range is established at the network device350, the established range may be communicated to the system controller340, and/or the load control discovery device for being stored thereon.

Any control device (e.g., control-source devices and/or control-targetdevices) may be identified as the load control discovery device. Thecontrol devices may be assigned as the load control discovery device atthe system controller 340, at the network device 350, and/or at thecontrol device itself. The load control discovery device may be switchedbetween control devices. For example, the load control discovery devicemay be switched from the remote control device 330 to one of thelighting control devices of the lighting fixtures 310, 312, 314, 316.The load control discovery device may be switched between controldevices via a command from the network device 350. For example, the loadcontrol discovery device may be switched between control devices inresponse to the user selecting one of the control devices on the networkdevice 350. The load control discovery device may be switched betweencontrol devices by the user 352 actuating a button (e.g., a button onthe occupancy sensor 332) on the respective control device for beingassigned as the load control discovery device.

The discovery range may be relative to the load control discoverydevice, such that identifying different control devices as the loadcontrol discovery device may allow for discovery of different devices.As described above, the load control discovery device may switch amongcontrol devices (e.g., from a previous load control discovery device toanother load control discovery device). As the load control discoverydevice switches among control devices, the discovery messages may betransmitted within the discovery range of different control devices. Forexample, if the load control discovery device switches from the remotecontrol device 330 to one of the lighting control devices of thelighting fixtures 310, 312, 314, 316, the center of the discovery rangemay move from the location of the remote control device to the selectedlighting fixture (e.g., in response to a user selection of the controldevice for being assigned as the load control discovery device on thenetwork device). As the load control discovery device may be a movabledevice (e.g., remote control device 330, which may be detachable fromthe wall and carried by the user 352), the discovery range may move withthe same load control discovery device.

The discovery message may be sent multiple times. For example, thediscovery message may be sent multiple times to identify the controldevices located within a moving discovery range and/or to identifycontrol devices that were not previously identified due to interference.The control devices identified as a result of the transmission ofmultiple messages may be aggregated. The aggregated control devices maybe provided to the user 352. For example, the aggregated control devicesmay be provided to the user 352 via network device 350. Control devicesthat previously responded to discovery messages may be ignored whenresponding to subsequent discovery messages. Subsequent discoverymessages may identify control devices that previously responded to adiscovery message, e.g., to prevent the discovered control devices fromhaving to respond again. If a subsequent response to receipt of adiscovery message indicates a different signal strength, the signalstrength corresponding to the control device may be updated to thelatter signal strength, maintained as the prior signal strength, or thesignal strength may be averaged.

There may be more than one load control discovery device. Each loadcontrol discovery device may be defined for each group of controldevices, such as a group of control devices in a physical space. Forexample, a control device located in a first portion of a room may beidentified as the load control discovery device to discover controldevices in the first portion of the room and another control devicelocated in a second portion of the room may be identified as the loadcontrol discovery device to discover control devices in the secondportion of the room. The control device that is most centrally locatedin the room, or a portion of a room, may be identified as the loadcontrol discovery device.

Digital messages may be sent to the control devices to instruct thecontrol devices to identify themselves and/or corresponding electricalloads, such that the user 352 may identify the control devices for beingassigned as the load control discovery device. The identified controldevices may be the discovered control devices at a location. The usermay actuate a button on the network device 350 to instruct a controldevice to perform an identification. The identification message may besent from the system controller 340 to the identified device. Theidentified control device may receive the identification message andcontrol an electrical load according to control instructions foridentifying the device. The system controller 340 may know the type ofcontrol device for being identified and may send the controlinstructions, or the system controller 340 may send a genericidentification message that may be detected by the identified device,and the control instructions may be looked up locally.

The user may actuate a button on control devices to assign controldevices as the load control discovery device. For example, the user 352may actuate a button (e.g., for a predetermined period of time) on theremote-control device 330 or the load control discovery device to send adigital message to the system controller 340 to instruct the systemcontroller 340 to identify the remote control device 330 as the loadcontrol discovery device. The identification message may be sent fromthe system controller 340 to the identified control device. The remotecontrol device 330 or the load control discovery device may also, oralternatively, communicate with the control devices directly to requestidentification. The identified device may receive the identificationmessage and control an electrical load according to control instructionsfor identifying the device. The system controller 340 may know the typeof control device for being identified and may send the controlinstructions, or the system controller 340 may send a genericidentification message that may be detected by the identified device andthe control instructions may be looked up locally.

The user 352 may actuate a button (e.g., for a predetermined period oftime) on the remote control device 330 or the load control discoverydevice to identify (e.g., by flashing or otherwise identifying thedevice) another control device as the load control discovery device orto assign the identified control device as the load control discoverydevice. This may allow the user 352 to iterate through control devicesand select a control device as the load control discovery device. Thecontrol devices that are iterated through for being identified as theload control discovery device may be control devices that have beendiscovered during the discovery mode or other devices (e.g., deviceswithin the discovery range of the remote control device 330 or the loadcontrol discovery device).

Different control devices may perform identification differently. Theload control devices may increase and/or decrease an amount of powerprovided to a corresponding electrical load. The lighting controldevices in the lighting fixtures 310, 312, 314, 316 may turn on, turnoff, raise, lower, or flash the respective lighting loads. A motorizedwindow treatment may raise the level of a covering material up or down,or wiggle with window treatment at the current level. The plug-in loadcontrol device 320 may turn on, turn off, raise, lower, or flash thefloor lamp 322, or otherwise increase and/or decrease an amount ofpower. Control devices may also, or alternatively, include an LED thatmay be turned on, turned off, or flashed for identification.

The system controller 340 may control the lighting control devices(e.g., the lighting control devices in the lighting fixtures 310, 312,314, 316) to increase and/or decrease the amount of power provided tothe respective lighting loads (e.g., to flash the lighting loads) toidentify a particular lighting fixture. For example, the systemcontroller 340 may control all of the lighting fixtures in an area orbuilding to full intensity and may cause a particular lighting fixtureto periodically decrease its intensity for a short period of time (e.g.,flash the particular lighting fixture) to identify the lighting fixtureto a user.

FIG. 3D is a timing diagram of a first example flashing profile for useby a lighting control device (such as lighting control device 364 offixture 360) and/or a control module controlling a lighting controldevice (such as control module 376 controlling lighting control device374 of fixture 370) to identify a particular lighting fixture. Alighting control device and/or control module may cause its respectivelighting load to produce such a profile in response to an identificationmessage sent from the system controller 340, for example. As shown inFIG. 3D, the lighting control device and/or control module mayperiodically adjust a controlled lighting intensity L_(CNTL) of alighting load between a high-end intensity L_(HE) and a low-endintensity L_(LE). A high-end intensity L_(HE) may be, for example, 100%or an intensity that is substantially 100%, such as 95-100%, and/or anintensity that is perceived by a user to not be a dimmed intensity. Forexample, the high-end intensity L_(HE) may be the intensity obtained bysetting the lighting load to a full-on setting/maximum intensitysetting/maximum high intensity setting. A low-end intensity L_(LE) inthis example may be 1-10% or an intensity that is approximately 1-10%,such as 1-15% for example. The lighting control device and/or a controlmodule may linearly adjust the controlled lighting intensity L_(CNTL)between the high-end intensity L_(HE) and the low-end intensity L_(LE)as shown in FIG. 3D. The linear adjustment of the intensity between thehigh-end intensity L_(HE) and the low-end intensity L_(LE) may allow auser to confirm that the lighting control device and/or a control moduleis dimming correctly (e.g., is wired correctly) during the configurationprocess of the load control system and/or to also identify a fixture. Asshown in FIG. 3D, when the lighting control device and/or control modulehas decreased the controlled lighting intensity L_(CNTL) to the low-endintensity L_(LE) (e.g., at time t₁), the lighting control device and/ora control module may immediately begin to increase the controlledlighting intensity L_(CNTL) towards the high-end intensity L_(HE).Similarly, when the lighting control device and/or control module hasincreased the controlled lighting intensity L_(CNTL) to the high-endintensity L_(HE) (e.g., at time t₂), the lighting control device and/orcontrol module may immediately begin to decrease the controlled lightingintensity L_(CNTL) towards the low-end intensity L_(LE).

When a control module of a lighting fixture (e.g., the control module376 of the fixture 370 as shown in FIG. 3C) is attempting to flash thelighting load of the lighting fixture using the flashing profile shownin FIG. 3D, the lighting control device 374 controlled by the controlmodule 376 may be incapable of adjusting the intensity of the lightingload to the intensity defined by the controlled lighting intensityL_(CNTL) shown in FIG. 3D (e.g., due to hardware and/or softwarelimitations of the lighting control device 374). For example, althoughthe control module 376 may instruct the lighting control device 374 toadjust the intensity of the lighting load to the intensity defined bythe controlled lighting intensity L_(CNTL) shown in FIG. 3D, thelighting control device 374 may not be able to achieve the high-endintensity L_(HE) and/or the low-end intensity L_(LE) defined by thecontrolled lighting intensity L_(CNTL). FIG. 3E is a timing diagramillustrating an example actual intensity L_(ACT) that may be generatedby a lighting control device 374 when driven with the controlledlighting intensity L_(CNTL) of FIG. 3D (where the controlled lightingintensity L_(CNTL) is shown in dashed lines). If the lighting controldevice 374 is not able to achieve the high-end intensity L_(HE) and/orthe low-end intensity L_(LE) defined by the controlled lightingintensity L_(CNTL), the actual intensity L_(ACT) may be clipped off asshown in FIG. 3E thereby producing a reduced range of intensities. Sincethe range of intensities between which the actual intensity L_(ACT)varies is smaller than that of the controlled lighting intensityL_(CNTL), the flashing fixture may be more difficult to view than if theintensity was varied across the full range between the high-endintensity L_(HE) and the low-end intensity L_(LE).

FIG. 3F is a timing diagram of a second example flashing profileL_(CNTL) that may be more noticeable to a user than the flashing profileshown in FIG. 3D. FIG. 3G is a timing diagram illustrating an exampleactual intensity L_(ACT) generated by a lighting control device (such aslighting control device 364 and/or 374 of fixtures 360 and 370) whendriven with the controlled lighting intensity L_(CNTL) of FIG. 3F (wherethe controlled lighting intensity L_(CNTL) is shown in dashed lines). Asshown in FIG. 3F, the lighting control device and/or a control modulemay periodically adjust a controlled lighting intensity L_(CNTL) betweena high-end intensity L_(HE) and off (i.e., 0% intensity). The high-endintensity L_(HE) may be, for example, 100% or an intensity that issubstantially 100%, such as 95-100%. For example, the high-end intensityL_(HE) may be the intensity obtained by setting the lighting load to afull-on setting/maximum intensity setting/maximum high intensity settingof the fixture. Nonetheless, one will recognize that other settings maybe used. The lighting control device and/or a control module may beconfigured to flash a controlled lighting load according to the flashingprofile of FIG. 3F during a configuration procedure. The flashingprofile L_(CNTL) of FIG. 3F may be characterized by at least one abrupttransition between off and the high-end intensity L_(HE), such as fromoff to full-on. The flashing profile L_(CNTL) of FIG. 3F may be furthercharacterized by at least one gradual transition between the high-endintensity L_(HE) and off, such as from full-on to off. The abrupt andgradual transitions may be repeated on a periodic basis as shown in FIG.3F. The gradual transition may occur across a first period of time(e.g., as shown from time t₀ to time t₁ and from time t₃ to time t4)using a predetermined fade rate. This fade rate may be a linear decreasefrom the high-end intensity L_(HE) to the low-end intensity L_(LE)(although other fade rates such as a non-linear fade rate may be used).For example, the first period of time may be one second, orsubstantially one second although one will recognize that greater andshorter fade times may be used. The linear adjustment of the intensityfrom the high-end intensity L_(HE) to off may allow the user to confirmthat the lighting control device and/or control module is dimmingcorrectly (e.g., is wired correctly) during the configuration process ofthe load control system. In some fixtures, such as fixture 370, theactual lighting intensity L_(ACT) may lag behind the controlled lightingintensity L_(CNTL) as the controlled lighting intensity L_(CNTL) isreduced from the high-end intensity L_(HE) to off, and the lightingcontrol device may actually turn off the lighting load after the time t₁or t4 as shown in FIG. 3G. Therefore, the flashing profile L_(CNTL) ofFIG. 3F may be further characterized such that when the controlledlighting intensity L_(CNTL) reaches off, the off setting may bemaintained for a second period of time (e.g., from time t₁ to time t₂)to make sure that the lighting load is off before the control moduleincreases the controlled lighting intensity L_(CNTL) (e.g., at time t₂)back to the high-end intensity L_(HE). For example, the second period oftime may be 1.5 seconds, or substantially 1.5 seconds although longerand shorter times may be used (i.e., the second period of time needs tobe long enough to ensure that lighting fixtures that are beingcontrolled have sufficient time to turn off).

As noted above, the flashing profile L_(CNTL) of FIG. 3F may include anabrupt transition of the lighting load from off to the high-endintensity L_(HE). For example, the lighting control device and/orcontrol module may quickly increase the controlled lighting intensityL_(CNTL) from off to the high-end intensity L_(HE) at time t₂ (e.g.,using a fade rate of zero seconds, or substantially zero-seconds; ormaking an immediate or substantially immediate transition from off tothe high-end intensity). This abrupt setting of the lighting load to thehigh-end intensity L_(HE) may be more noticeable to a user thangradually turning on the lighting load (e.g., linearly increasing theintensity over a period of time). Some lighting control devices (such asin fixture 370) may not be able to turn on instantly and the actuallighting intensity L_(ACT) may lag behind the controlled lightingintensity L_(CNTL) as shown in FIG. 3G. For example, some lightingcontrol devices may be characterized by a startup time delay. Inaddition, electronic dimming ballasts must preheat the filaments of acontrolled fluorescent lamp and strike the lamp before the lamp isturned on. Therefore, the flashing profile L_(CNTL) of FIG. 3F may befurther characterized such that when the controlled lighting intensityreaches the high-end intensity L_(HE), the high-end intensity L_(HE) maybe maintained for a third period of time (e.g., from time t₂ to time t₃)to make sure that the lighting load is at the high-end intensity L_(HE)before the control module begins to decrease the controlled lightingintensity L_(CNTL) (e.g., at time t₃) back to off. For example, thethird period of time may be two seconds, or substantially two secondsalthough longer and shorter times may be used (i.e., the third period oftime needs to be long enough to ensure that lighting fixtures that arebeing controlled have sufficient time to reach the high-end intensityL_(HE)).

While the flashing profile L_(CNTL) of FIG. 3F includes one transitionthat is abrupt (e.g., the transition from off to the high-end intensityL_(HE) at time t₂), the transition from the high-end intensity to off(e.g., at time to) may also be abrupt (e.g., using a fade rate of zeroseconds, or substantially zero-seconds). In addition, the lightingprofile of FIG. 3F may be flipped and characterized by an abrupttransition from the high-end intensity to off (e.g., at time to) and agradual (e.g., linear) transition between off to the high-end intensity(e.g., starting or ending at time t₂) at a predetermined fade rate.

As discussed above, the lighting control device and/or control module ofa lighting fixture (such as fixture 360 or 370) may be pre-programmedwith a flashing profile L_(CNTL), such as the profile of FIG. 3F. Inresponse to a message(s) received from the system controller 340, thenetwork device 350, and/or a control source/target device, the lightingcontrol device and/or control module may control the lighting loadaccording to the flashing profile. The lighting control device and/orcontrol module may control the lighting load according to the flashingprofile for a defined period of time (periodically changing the lightintensity according to the flashing profile) as may be pre-programmedinto the lighting control device and/or control module. Alternatively,the received message(s) may indicate how long to maintain the flashingprofile. According to another example, the lighting control deviceand/or control module may maintain the flashing profile until receivinganother message from the system controller 340, the network device 350,and/or a control source/target device. According to another example,rather than the lighting control device and/or control module of alighting fixture (such as fixture 360 or 370) being pre-programmed witha flashing profile L_(CNTL), the profile may be part of a message(s)received from the system controller 340, the network device 350, and/ora control source/target device. In other words, there may be a pluralityof flashing profiles that a lighting control device and/or controlmodule may provide and the message(s) may define which profile toprovide. Again, such a message(s) may also include an indication as tohow long to control the lighting load according to the profile.Alternatively, the lighting control device and/or control module maymaintain the profile until receiving another message from the systemcontroller 340, the network device 350, and/or a control source/targetdevice.

After a control device has been identified (e.g., using one of theflashing profiles described above), the user 352 may select theidentified device on the network device 350 for identifying the controldevice as the load control discovery device. The user 352 may identifydifferent control devices as the load control discovery device anddiscover different devices by moving the established discovery rangewithin a location or to different locations.

Control devices in rooms that are outside of the established discoveryrange may not receive a discovery message from the load controldiscovery device. Therefore, the established discovery range may beconfigurable. For example, the established discovery range may beconfigurable by adjusting (e.g., incrementally increasing or decreasing)the signal strength (e.g., transmission power) of the load controldiscovery device, and/or by adjusting (e.g., increasing or decreasing) athreshold value (e.g., the reception power threshold value). Thediscovery range may be increased (e.g., incrementally increased) as thetransmission power of the load control discovery device is increasedand/or as the reception power threshold is decreased. As the discoveryrange is increased, the number of control devices within the discoveryrange may increase. The discovery range may be adjusted to an adjusteddiscovery range. Using the established adjusted discovery range, theload control discovery device may discover and/or associate othercontrol devices that come within the adjusted discovery range.

The discovery range may also be adjusted to a larger discovery rangethat includes more control devices or to a smaller discovery range thatmay include less control devices. The discovery range may be madesmaller to avoid discovering control devices in other locations (e.g.,adjacent rooms) when attempting to discover devices in a specific room.The user 352 may adjust the discovery range or move the discovery rangeto another location depending on the size of the room or the location ofvarious control devices to discover the control devices within alocation. When the discovery range is increased, decreased, and/ormoved, the display provided on the network device 350 may updateaccordingly. For example, when the discovery range is moved from onelocation to another location, the network device 350 may show thecontrol devices in the updated discovery range. In addition, oralternatively, when the discovery range is moved from one location toanother location, an aggregation of the control devices from each of thediscovery ranges may be identified.

The discovery range may be selected that corresponds to the size of thelocation. For example, the transmission power of the load controldiscovery device may be adjusted (e.g., increased or decreased) suchthat the transmission power of the load control discovery devicecorresponds to a size of a location. A control device with a greatertransmission power may be identified as the load control discoverydevice, to increase the discovery range in larger rooms. Each locationmay have a size identifier that indicates the size of each respectivelocation. The transmission power of the load control discovery devicemay be assigned, or a control device with a corresponding transmissionpower may be identified as the load control discovery device, to enablethe discovery of control devices in a location having the identifiedsize.

The transmission power of the load control discovery device and/or othercontrol devices may be adjusted (e.g., increased or decreased) by apredetermined amount during the discovery mode. The adjusted (e.g.,increased and/or decreased) transmission power may be greater thanand/or less than the transmission power of the load control discoverydevice and/or control devices in normal operation. The adjustedtransmission power during the discovery mode may enable the controldevices and/or load control discovery device to discover more and/orless devices, while preserving the power at the control devices and/orload control discovery device during other usage (e.g., communication ofload control messages).

The load control discovery device may communicate with the controldevices via one or more intermediary devices. For example, discoverymessages may be received at a control device and the acknowledgementand/or signal strength may be communicated via one or more other controldevices in the system. The one or more intermediary devices may be usedto ensure a greater likelihood that the acknowledgement and/or signalstrength are received at the load control discovery device. When thecontrol device is transmitting a discovery message to the load controldiscovery device (e.g., for a one-way communication device), the signalstrengths at which each message is received at an intermediary devicemay be appended to the messages being communicated. The load controldiscovery device and/or the system controller 340 may add the signalstrengths together to determine the relative distance of the controldevices.

A control device may interact with other control devices and/or storeinformation (e.g., location information, signal strength information,device identifiers, as well as other identification information) of theother control devices. For example, control devices may storeinformation about neighboring control devices to enable the controldevices to forward information of the neighboring devices. Theneighboring control devices may be the control devices from whichdigital messages are received with a predefined signal strength.Neighboring control devices may be configured by the network device 350and/or the system controller 340 and may be communicated to controldevices for being stored thereon.

A control device may receive a discovery message and store the signalstrength related to the received discovery message. The control devicemay communicate the signal strength at which the discovery message wasreceived to neighboring devices, which may forward the signal strengthto other devices, such as the system controller 340. Control devicesthat receive the discovery message may also, or alternatively, forwardthe discovery message to neighboring devices, such that control devicesoutside of the discovery range may still be discovered. The controldevice may add the signal strength at which a digital message isreceived from a neighboring device to the signal strength at which thediscovery message was received and report the combined signal strengthto the system controller 340.

Control devices may be ordered and/or grouped according to respectivesignal strengths. For example, a control device that determines a signalstrength of a received discovery message may determine assumed signalstrengths of other control devices, based on the control device'sdetermined signal strength. Neighboring control devices may be assumedto have similar signal strengths. Assumed signal strengths of thecontrol devices may be dependent upon where the control devices forwhich the signal strengths that are being assumed are located within apredefined distance of the source (e.g., the load control discoverydevice) of the discovery message. For example, by determining signalstrengths of a control device's neighboring control devices, the systemcontroller 340 may directionally calculate the difference between acontrol device that is −0 dB away from the system controller 340 and acontrol device that is −50 dB away from the system controller 340 and−20 dB from control devices that were selected as having satisfactorysignal strengths.

Existing association information may be discovered by system controller340 and/or the load control discovery device. The control devices maysend association information (e.g., associated device identifiers) thatindicates the devices with which the control devices are associated. Theassociation information may be in the discovery messages or in responserequests for discovery information. The network device 350 may make arequest for a specific control-source device identifier to determinewhether a control-target device is associated with a specificcontrol-source device. The control-source device identifier may beprovided to the network device for display or an indication may bedisplayed indicating that the identified control-source device cannot befound.

The system controller 340 may discover one or more control deviceswithin a broadcast control group. A broadcast control group may includeone or more control devices of an identified device type, one or morecontrol devices within a defined location, and/or one or more controldevices that share another group characteristic. The control devices ina broadcast control group may be controlled at the same time by thesystem controller 340. The control devices that are included in abroadcast control group may receive a group identifier and store thegroup identifier such that the control devices included within thebroadcast control group may respond to digital messages that are sent tothe group and include the group identifier. For example, the systemcontroller 340 may create a lighting control device group that includesthe lighting control devices in the lighting fixtures 310, 312, 314,316. The system controller 340 may instruct the lighting control devicesin the lighting fixtures 310, 312, 314, 316 in the lighting controldevice group to turn on or off, as a group.

Multiple load control discovery devices may be implemented to performdiscovery and/or association of control devices. Each of the loadcontrol discovery devices may transmit discovery messages to the samedevices and/or different devices. The system controller 340 may receivethe device identifiers of discovered control devices and/or the signalstrength associated with the discovered devices and remove duplicatedevice identifiers. The system controller 340 may keep the associatedsignal strength of a device identifier that is the greatest signalstrength. The system controller 340 may organize the device identifiers(e.g., in an ascending or descending list by signal strength) after theduplicate device identifiers have been removed, or the system controller340 may remove the organized device identifiers that have the lowersignal strengths.

The system controller 340 may discover when the established discoveryrange overlaps with the established range of another load controldiscovery device, for example, when the system controller 340 receivesduplicate information from the same device. The system controller 340may adjust one or more of the discovery ranges to avoid the overlap ormay indicate the overlap to the user 352 on the network device 350.

The load control discovery devices may be in communication with oneanother (e.g., directly in communication with one another or via thesystem controller 340). The load control discovery device may discoveran overlap of established discovery range with the established range ofanother load control discovery device when the load control discoverydevice receives a discovery message. The load control discovery devicemay adjust the discovery range or indicate the overlap to the systemcontroller 340 and/or the network device 350.

As previously mentioned, the control-source devices (e.g., the inputdevices, such as the remote control device 330, the occupancy sensor332, and the daylight sensor 334) may be associated with one or more ofthe control-target devices (e.g., the lighting control devices of thelighting fixtures 310, 312, 314, 316) upon selection of the controldevices from a list of discovered control devices that is displayed onthe visual display 354 of the network device 350. The control-sourcedevices may be associated with the control-target devices on anarea-by-area basis using an area configuration procedure. For example,the area configuration procedure may be repeated for each load controlarea (such as the load control environment 300 and/or room 302) of abuilding. Each control-source device located in the area may beassociated (e.g., individually associated) with the control-targetdevices that are to be responsive to the control-source device (e.g., bystepping through each control-source device in the area one-by-one).Each control-source device may be associated with all of thecontrol-target devices in the area or less than all of thecontrol-target devices in the area.

The control-source devices may be associated with the control-targetdevices of an area in any order. For example, the remote control device330 may be associated with a subset of the control-target devices, theoccupancy sensor 332 may be associated with another subset of thecontrol-target devices, and then the daylight sensor 334 may beassociated with another subset of the control-target devices. Or, thedaylight sensor 334 may first be associated with a subset of thecontrol-target devices, the remote control device 330 may then beassociated with another subset of the control-target devices, andfinally the occupancy sensor 332 may be associated with another subsetof the control-target devices.

The network device 350 may store the association information of thecontrol-source devices and control-target devices in each area and maytransmit the association information to the system controller 340, whichmay store the association information (e.g., in memory). The systemcontroller 340 and/or the network device 350 may also build and store acontrol-source device list of the control-source devices in each areaand a control-target device list of the control-target devicesassociated with the control-source devices in each area. The systemcontroller 340 and/or the network device 350 may build the lists ofcontrol-source devices and control-target devices as the control-sourcedevices are associated with the control-target devices as part of thearea configuration procedure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example area configuration procedure 400 forassociating control-source devices with control-target devices in a loadcontrol area (such as the load control environment 300 shown in FIG.3A). FIGS. 5A-5J illustrate example screenshots that may be displayed bya visual display of a network device (e.g., the visual display 354 ofthe network device 350) during the area configuration procedure 400(e.g., via a web interface and/or a control application executed by thenetwork device). The area configuration procedure 400 may allow a user(e.g., the user 352) to associate one or more control-source devices(e.g., input devices, such as the remote control device 330, theoccupancy sensor 332, and/or the daylight sensor 334) with one or morecontrol-target devices (e.g., the lighting control devices in thelighting fixtures 310, 312, 314, 316) in a specific area. The areaconfiguration procedure 400 may be repeated for different areas of abuilding.

The area configuration procedure 400 may start at 402 when the userselects a “Create an area” option 502 on an area creation screen 500 asshown in FIG. 5A. The user may assign a name (e.g., a unique name) tothe area being configured at 404, for example, by entering a name in anarea name text field 512 of an area name screen 510 as shown in FIG. 5B.The user may choose the type of control-source device (e.g., the type ofinput device) displayed on the network device to associate with one ormore of the control-target devices (e.g., the lighting control devicesof the lighting fixtures) in the area at 406. For example, the networkdevice may display an input device selection screen 520 from which theuser may select a remote control device option 522 (e.g., a Pico® remotecontrol device option), an occupancy sensor option 524, or a daylightsensor option 526 as shown in FIG. 5C. If the area that is beingconfigured does not have an input device (e.g., does not have a remotecontrol device, an occupancy sensor, or a daylight sensor), the user mayselect a “no input device” option 528 on the input device selectionscreen 520.

At 408, the network device may then display a button actuationinstruction screen 530 to indicate to the user actuation instructionsfor enabling discovery. The actuation instruction screen 530 may containan image 532 instructing the user to actuate a button of the selectedinput device after which the user may then press and hold theappropriate button of the actual input device located in the area. Forexample, if the remote control device option 522 is selected at 406, theimage 532 of the button actuation instruction screen 530 may be an imageof a remote control device (e.g., a 5-button Pico® remote controldevice) instructing the user to press and hold the bottom button of theremote control device for six seconds as shown in FIG. 5D. An image ofthe control device may be displayed to assist the user in identificationof the proper device. The user may select one or more alternate remotecontrol device options 534 to change the image 532 on the buttonactuation instruction screen 530 to an image of a remote control devicehaving a different number of buttons and appropriate instructions forthat remote control device. In addition, if the occupancy sensor option524 or the daylight sensor 526 option is selected at 406, the image 532of the button actuation instruction screen 530 may be an image of anoccupancy sensor or a daylight sensor, respectively, with appropriateinstructions for actuating a button on each of those sensor devices. Ifthe user selects the “no input device” option 528 on the input deviceselection screen 520, the network device may display a screen (notshown) instructing the user to actuate a button on one of thecontrol-target devices (e.g., one of the lighting control devices in thelighting fixtures in the area).

After the button on the input device is actuated appropriately at 408,the network device and/or the system controller may add an input deviceidentifier of the input device to a list of input device identifiers forthat area at 410. At 412, the network device may receive and display alist of lighting control devices in lighting fixtures within a discoveryrange of the input device. The network device may display a fixtureidentification screen 540 having a list 542 of fixture identifiers 544as shown in FIG. 5E. For example, the list 542 of fixture identifiers544 may be displayed in an order determined by decreasing signalstrength based on the proximity to the input device on which the buttonwas actuated at 408 (e.g., as described above in greater detail). Thefixture identifier 544 of the lighting control device characterized bythe highest signal strength may be located at the top of the list 542.The user may identify one of the lighting control devices by selectingthe flash option 545 displayed next to the fixture identifier 544 forthat lighting control device in the list 544 to cause the lightingcontrol device to flash the lighting load in the lighting fixture.Selection of this option may cause the network device to instruct thesystem controller to communicate a message(s) to the selected lightingcontrol device. The message may cause the lighting control device toflash a lighting profile, such as the profile of FIG. 3F, as similarlydescribed above. Selection of the option a second time may cause thenetwork device to instruct the system controller to communicate amessage(s) to the selected lighting control device to stop flashing theprofile. The user may select one or more of the lighting control devicesto be associated with the input device by selecting a selection icon 546displayed next to the fixture identifier 544 for the respective lightingcontrol devices in the list 544. As shown in FIG. 5F, when the userselects one of the selection icons 546 in the list 542, the selectionicon may change to a check icon 548 indicated that the lighting controldevice having that fixture identifier 544 is selected to be associatedwith the input device. The user may select the flash option 545 toconfirm that each lighting control device to be associated with theinput device is in the present area (e.g., in the load controlenvironment 300 and/or room 302).

When the user has selected each of the lighting control devices in thelighting fixtures to associate with the input device (on which thebutton was actuated at 408), the user may select a next option 549displayed on the fixture identification screen 540 and the networkdevice may receive an indication of the fixture identifiers of thelighting control devices in the lighting fixtures to associate with theinput device at 412 of the area configuration procedure 400. If thelighting control devices in the selected lighting fixtures are notalready included in the present area at 416, the network device may addthe fixture identifiers to a list of fixture identifiers for that areaat 418. If the some of the lighting control devices in the selectedlighting fixtures are not already included in the present area at 416,but some of the selected lighting control devices are already includedin the present area, the lighting control devices that are not includedin the present area may be included. The network device may storeassociation information regarding the association between the inputdevice and the lighting control devices in the selected lightingfixtures at step 420. A system controller (e.g., the system controller340) may also build and store the list of fixture identifiers, the listof input devices, and the association information.

If the area configuration procedure 400 is not complete at 422 (e.g., ifthere are more input devices to associate with the lighting controldevices in the lighting fixtures in the present area), the areaconfiguration procedure 400 may loop around to allow the user to chooseanother input device to associate with one or more of the control-targetdevices in the area at 406. For example, the user may actuate a buttonon an occupancy sensor to associate the occupancy sensor with one ormore lighting control devices in lighting fixtures in the area. Thenetwork device may receive and display a list (e.g., the list 542) oflighting control devices in lighting fixtures within a discovery rangeof the occupancy sensor. The network device may include analready-associated indication 550 below the fixture identifiers 544 ofthe load control devices of those lighting fixtures that were previouslyassociated with an input device as shown in FIG. 5G. For example, thealready-associated indication 550 may indicate that the load controldevices in those lighting fixtures were previously associated with aremote control device in the area as shown in FIG. 5G. The display ofthe already-associated indication 550 may help the user identify thefixture identifiers 544 of the load control devices in the lightingfixtures to be associated with the occupancy sensor. For example, theuser may wish to associate the occupancy sensor with each of the loadcontrol devices in the lighting fixtures that were previously associatedwith the remote control device and may select the selection icons 546next to the fixture identifiers 544 having the already-associatedindication 550, such that the check icons 548 are displayed as shown inFIG. 5H. This may prevent additional errors or duplicate associationsfrom being generated during the association process.

When the user has completed configuration of the present area at 422,the area configuration procedure 400 may exit.

The area configuration procedure 400 may be repeated for different areasof a building. If the user is attempting to associate an input device inan area (e.g., a presently-configured area) that is adjacent to apreviously-configured area, the network device may display informationregarding load control devices in lighting fixtures in thepreviously-configured area (e.g., the previously-associated oralready-assigned lighting fixtures). For example, the network device mayinclude fixture identifiers 544′ of load control devices inpreviously-associated lighting fixtures in the list 542 on the fixtureidentification screen 540 as shown in FIG. 5I. The network device maydisplay an alert that the fixture identifiers 544′ are already assigned.If the user selects the fixture identifier 544′ of a load control devicein one of the previously associated lighting fixtures, the networkdevice may display a warning window 550 to allow the user to confirmthat the user wants to associate the input device with the load controldevice in the previously associated lighting fixture as shown in FIG.5J. If the user selects a confirm option 552 on the warning window 550,the network device may remove the fixture identifier of the load controldevice in the previously associated lighting fixture from the list offixture identifiers for the previously-configured area and add thefixture identifier to the list of fixture identifiers for thepresently-configured area. If the user selects a cancel option 554 onthe warning window 550, the network device may maintain the lists offixture identifiers for the previously-configured area and thepresently-being-configured area.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate example screenshots that may be displayed bya visual display of a network device (e.g., the visual display 354 ofthe network device 350) for configuring operational settings of an area(e.g., during or after the area configuration procedure 400). Thenetwork device may be configured to display a “Device & Settings” screen600 that displays configuration options (e.g., an area occupancyconfiguration option 602 and an area tuning configuration option 604)for configuring the area. The configuration options may be displayed onthe “Device & Settings” screen 600 depending upon the types of inputdevices that have been associated with the load control devices in thelighting fixtures in the area. For example, if the at least one remotecontrol device and at least one occupancy sensor have been associatedwith the load control devices in the lighting fixtures in the area, thearea occupancy configuration option 602 and the area tuningconfiguration option 604 may be displayed on the “Device & Settings”screen 600 as shown in FIG. 6A. If at least one daylight sensor is thenassociated with the load control devices in the lighting fixtures in thearea, an area daylighting configuration option 606 may be displayed onthe “Device & Settings” screen 600 as shown in FIG. 6B.

In response to the selection of the area occupancy configuration option602, the network device may display an area occupancy configurationscreen (not shown) that allows for adjustment of the occupancy settings(e.g., sensitivity, timeouts, etc.) for the area. In response to theselection of the area tuning configuration option 604, the networkdevice may display an area tuning configuration screen (not shown) thatallows for adjustment of the dimming range settings (e.g., high-endtrim, low-end trim, etc.) for the area. In response to the selection ofthe area daylighting configuration option 606, the network device maydisplay an area daylighting configuration screen (not shown) that allowsfor adjustment of the daylighting settings (e.g., daylighting gain,etc.) for the area.

FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate example screenshots that may be displayed by avisual display of a network device (e.g., the visual display 354 of thenetwork device 350) for configuring a control device of area (e.g.,during or after the area configuration procedure 400). The networkdevice may be configured to display a control device configurationscreen 700 that displays configuration options for configuring apresently-selected control device, for example, a remote control device(such as the remote control device 330) as shown in FIG. 7A. An image ofthe control device may be displayed to assist the user in identificationof the proper device. The user may be able to assign a name to thecontrol device presently being configured, e.g., by entering a name in acontrol device name text field 702. In addition, the user may be able toprogram the operation of the control device by selecting a programmingoption 704.

The network device may display a control device programming screen 710in response to a selection of the programming option 704. As shown inFIG. 7B, the control device programming screen 710 may display a presetintensity adjustment window 712, which may allow for the adjustment of apreset intensity for the lighting control devices of the lightingfixtures of the area. During normal operation, the lighting controldevices may control the intensities of the controlled lighting loads tothe preset intensity in response to an actuation of a preset button ofthe remote control device presently being programmed. The presetintensity adjustment window 712 may include a single slider control 714for adjusting (e.g., simultaneously adjusting) the preset intensities ofeach of the lighting control devices of the lighting fixtures in thearea (i.e., adjusting the preset intensities of all of the lightingcontrol devices in the area at one time to a single level). The presetintensity adjustment window 712 may include a raise icon 716 for raisingthe preset intensity by a predetermined amount (e.g., in response to asingle actuation of the raise icon), and a lower icon 718 for loweringthe preset intensity by a predetermined amount (e.g., in response to asingle actuation of the raise icon).

The control device programming screen 710 may also display a “Set perfixture” option 719 to allow for adjustment of the preset intensities ofthe load control devices of each of the individual lighting fixtures inthe area. As shown in FIG. 7C, the network device may display a presetadjustment screen 720 in response to a selection of the “Set perfixture” option 719. The preset adjustment screen 720 may displayseparate preset intensity adjustment windows 722A, 722B for each of thelighting control devices in the lighting fixtures in the area (e.g., twofixtures as shown in FIG. 7C). Each preset intensity level adjustmentwindow 722A, 722B may include a slider control 724A, 724B for adjustingthe preset intensity of the lighting control device of the respectivelighting fixture. Each preset intensity adjustment window 722A, 722B mayinclude a raise icon 726A, 726B for raising the preset intensity by apredetermined amount and a lower icon 728A, 728B for lowering the presetintensity by a predetermined amount. In response to an actuation ofpreset button of the remote control device during normal operation, thelighting control devices may each control the intensity of thecontrolled lighting load to the respective preset intensity set in thepreset adjustment screen 720. The preset adjustment screen 720 may alsodisplay a “Set same level for all fixtures” option 729 to provide forreturning to the control device programming screen 710 to allow foradjustment of all of the preset intensities of the load control devicesof the lighting fixtures in the area in response to the single slidercontrol 714 of the preset intensity adjustment window 712.

FIG. 8 illustrates another example screenshot that may be displayed by avisual display of a network device (e.g., the visual display 354 of thenetwork device 350) for configuring a preset for a button of a controldevice in an area having more than one type of load control device. Forexample, the area may include one or more of the following types of loadcontrol devices: lighting control devices of dimmable lighting fixtures(e.g., dimmed lights), lighting control devices of switched lightingfixtures (e.g., switched lights), contact closure output (CCO) devices,and controllable receptacles. The network device may display a presetprogramming screen 800, which may allow for the adjustment of presetsettings for the load control devices of the area. During normaloperation, the load control devices may control the controlledelectrical loads according the preset settings in response to anactuation of the button of the remote control device that is presentlybeing programmed. The preset programming screen 800 may display multiplepreset adjustment windows 802A, 802B, 802C, 802D for each of thedifferent types of load control devices in the area.

As shown in FIG. 8, the preset programming screen 800 may display adimmed lights preset adjustment window 802A to allow for the adjustmentof a preset intensity level for the lighting control devices of thedimmable lighting fixtures of the area. The dimmed lights presetadjustment window 802A may include a slider control 804A for adjustingthe preset intensity level of each of the lighting control devices ofthe dimmable lighting fixtures in the area. The dimmed lights presetadjustment window 802A may include a raise icon 806A for raising thepreset intensity level by a predetermined amount and a lower icon 808Afor lowering the preset intensity level by a predetermined amount.

The preset programming screen 800 may display a switched lights presetadjustment window 802B for the adjustment of the preset state of thelighting control devices of the switched lighting fixtures, a contactclosure output preset adjustment window 802C for the adjustment of thepreset state of contact closure output devices, and a receptacle presetadjustment window 802D for the adjustment of the preset state ofcontrolled receptacle devices. The switched lights preset adjustmentwindow 802B, the contact closure output preset adjustment window 802C,and the receptacle preset adjustment window 802D may each display presetstate options 805B, 805C, 805D. For example, the display preset stateoptions 805B, 805C, 805D may be on, off, and unaffected as shown in FIG.8.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example network device 900 asdescribed herein. The network device 900 may include the network device350, for example. The network device 900 may include a control circuit902 for controlling the functionality of the network device 900. Thecontrol circuit 902 may include one or more general purpose processors,special purpose processors, conventional processors, digital signalprocessors (DSPs), microprocessors, integrated circuits, a programmablelogic device (PLD), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), orthe like. The control circuit 902 may perform signal coding, dataprocessing, power control, input/output processing, or any otherfunctionality that enables the network device 900 to perform asdescribed herein. Instructions (e.g., firmware or/and or softwarebased), that when executed by the control circuit, may configure thecontrol circuit to perform as described herein may be stored in memory904. In addition, the control circuit 902 may store information inand/or retrieve information from the memory 904. The memory 904 mayinclude a non-removable memory and/or a removable memory. Thenon-removable memory may include random-access memory (RAM), read-onlymemory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of non-removable memorystorage. The removable memory may include a subscriber identity module(SIM) card, a memory stick, a memory card, or any other type ofremovable memory.

The network device 900 may include a communications circuit 908 fortransmitting and/or receiving information. The communications circuit908 may perform wireless and/or wired communications. The communicationscircuit 908 may include an RF transceiver or other circuit capable ofperforming wireless communications via an antenna. Communicationscircuit 908 may be in communication with control circuit 902 fortransmitting and/or receiving information.

The control circuit 902 may also be in communication with a display 906for providing information to a user. The processor 902 and/or thedisplay 906 may generate GUIs for being displayed on the network device900. The display 906 and the control circuit 902 may be in two-waycommunication, as the display 906 may include a touch screen modulecapable of receiving information from a user and providing suchinformation to the control circuit 902. The network device may alsoinclude an actuator 912 (e.g., one or more buttons) that may be actuatedby a user to communicate user selections to the control circuit 902.

Each of the modules within the network device 900 may be powered by apower source 910. The power source 910 may include a power supply or DCpower supply, for example. The power source 910 may generate a supplyvoltage V_(CC) for powering the modules within the network device 900.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example system controller1000 as described herein. The system controller 1000 may include acontrol circuit 1002 for controlling the functionality of the systemcontroller 1000. The control circuit 1002 may include one or moregeneral purpose processors, special purpose processors, conventionalprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), microprocessors,integrated circuits, a programmable logic device (PLD), applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASICs), or the like. The control circuit1002 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control,input/output processing, or any other functionality that enables thesystem controller 1000 to perform as described herein. Instructions(e.g., firmware or/and or software based), that when executed by thecontrol circuit, may configure the control circuit to perform asdescribed herein may be stored in memory 1004. In addition, the controlcircuit 1002 may store information in and/or retrieve information fromthe memory 1004. The memory 1004 may include a non-removable memoryand/or a removable memory. The non-removable memory may includerandom-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or anyother type of non-removable memory storage. The removable memory mayinclude a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, amemory card, or any other type of removable memory.

The system controller 1000 may include a communications circuit 1006 fortransmitting and/or receiving information. The communications circuit1006 may perform wireless and/or wired communications. The systemcontroller 1000 may also, or alternatively, include a communicationscircuit 1008 for transmitting and/or receiving information. Thecommunications circuit 1006 may perform wireless and/or wiredcommunications. Communications circuits 1006 and 1008 may be incommunication with control circuit 1002. The communications circuits1006 and 1008 may include RF transceivers or other communicationsmodules capable of performing wireless communications via an antenna.The communications circuit 1006 and communications circuit 1008 may becapable of performing communications via the same communication channelsor different communication channels. For example, the communicationscircuit 1006 may be capable of communicating (e.g., with a networkdevice, over a network, etc.) via a wireless communication channel(e.g., BLUETOOTH®, near field communication (NFC), WIFI®, WI-MAX®,cellular, etc.) and the communications circuit 1008 may be capable ofcommunicating (e.g., with control devices and/or other devices in theload control system) via another wireless communication channel (e.g.,WI-FI® or a proprietary communication channel, such as CLEAR CONNECT™).

The control circuit 1002 may be in communication with an LED indicator1012 for providing indications to a user. The control circuit 1002 maybe in communication with an actuator 1014 (e.g., one or more buttons)that may be actuated by a user to communicate user selections to thecontrol circuit 1002. For example, the actuator 1014 may be actuated toput the control circuit 1002 in an association mode and/or communicateassociation messages from the system controller 1000.

Each of the modules within the system controller 1000 may be powered bya power source 1010. The power source 1010 may include a power supply orDC power supply, for example. The power source 1010 may generate asupply voltage V_(CC) for powering the modules within the systemcontroller 1000.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example control-targetdevice, e.g., a load control device 1100, as described herein. The loadcontrol device 1100 may be a dimmer switch, an electronic switch, anelectronic ballast for lamps, an LED driver for LED light sources, aplug-in load control device, a temperature control device (e.g., athermostat), a motor drive unit for a motorized window treatment, orother load control device. The load control device 1100 may include acommunications circuit 1102. The communications circuit 1102 may includea receiver, an RF transceiver, or other communications module capable ofperforming wired and/or wireless communications via communications link(e.g., via a communication link connection 1110). The communicationscircuit 1102 may be in communication with control circuit 1104. Thecontrol circuit 1104 may include one or more general purpose processors,special purpose processors, conventional processors, digital signalprocessors (DSPs), microprocessors, integrated circuits, a programmablelogic device (PLD), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), orthe like. The control circuit 1104 may perform signal coding, dataprocessing, power control, input/output processing, or any otherfunctionality that enables the load control device 1100 to perform asdescribed herein. Instructions (e.g., firmware or/and or softwarebased), that when executed by the control circuit, may configure thecontrol circuit to perform as described herein may be stored in memory1106.

In addition, the control circuit 1104 may store information in and/orretrieve information from the memory 1106. For example, the memory 1106may maintain a registry of associated control devices and/or controlconfiguration instructions. The memory 1106 may include a non-removablememory and/or a removable memory. The load control circuit 1108 mayreceive instructions from the control circuit 1104 and may control theelectrical load 1116 based on the received instructions. The loadcontrol circuit 1108 may comprise a load regulation circuit configuredto turn the electrical load 1116 on and off, and to adjust the amount ofpower delivered to the electrical load 1116. The load control circuit1108 may also comprise a switching circuit configured to controllablyprovide power to the electrical load 1116. The load control circuit 1108may send status feedback to the control circuit 1104 regarding thestatus of the electrical load 1116. The load control circuit 1108 mayreceive power via the hot connection 1112 and the neutral connection1114 and may provide an amount of power to the electrical load 1116. Theelectrical load 1116 may include any type of electrical load.

The control circuit 1104 may be in communication with an actuator 1118(e.g., one or more buttons) that may be actuated by a user tocommunicate user selections to the control circuit 1104. For example,the actuator 1118 may be actuated to put the control circuit 1104 in anassociation mode and/or communicate association messages from the loadcontrol device 1100.

The load control device 1100 may further include a control signalgeneration circuit 1120 configured to generate a control signal forcontrolling an external load control device (e.g., an external lightingcontrol device, such LED driver or a ballast, located in the samelighting fixture as the load control device 1100). The control signalgeneration circuit 1120 may be coupled to the external lighting controldevice via a control wiring (e.g., the control wiring 379 shown in FIG.3C). The control signal generation circuit 1120 may be coupled to thecontrol wiring via a control wiring connection 1122. The control circuit1104 may be in communication with the control signal generation circuit1120 and may be configured to cause the control signal generationcircuit 1122 to generate the control signal on the control wiring. Thecontrol signal generated by the control signal generation circuit 1120may comprise, for example, an analog control signal, a 0-10V controlsignal, a pulse-width modulated (PWM) control signal, a phase-controlsignal, a digital message transmitted via a standard protocol, oranother type of control signal).

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an example control-source device1200 as described herein. The control-source device 1200 may be a remotecontrol device, an occupancy sensor, a daylight sensor, a window sensor,a temperature sensor, and/or the like. The control-source device 1200may include a control circuit 1202 for controlling the functionality ofthe control-source device 1200. The control circuit 1202 may include oneor more general purpose processors, special purpose processors,conventional processors, digital signal processors (DSPs),microprocessors, integrated circuits, a programmable logic device (PLD),application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or the like. Thecontrol circuit 1202 may perform signal coding, data processing, powercontrol, input/output processing, or any other functionality thatenables the control-source device 1200 to perform as described herein.Instructions (e.g., firmware or/and or software based), that whenexecuted by the control circuit, may configure the control circuit toperform as described herein may be stored in memory 1204.

In addition, the control circuit 1202 may store information in and/orretrieve information from the memory 1204. The memory 1204 may include anon-removable memory and/or a removable memory, as described herein.

The control-source device 1200 may include a communications circuit 1208for transmitting and/or receiving information. The communicationscircuit 1208 may transmit and/or receive information via wired and/orwireless communications. The communications circuit 1208 may include atransmitter, an RF transceiver, or other circuit capable of performingwired and/or wireless communications. The communications circuit 1208may be in communication with control circuit 1202 for transmittingand/or receiving information.

The control circuit 1202 may also be in communication with an inputcircuit 1206. The input circuit 1206 may include an actuator (e.g., oneor more buttons) or a sensor circuit (e.g., an occupancy sensor circuit,a daylight sensor circuit, or a temperature sensor circuit) forreceiving input that may be sent to a device for controlling anelectrical load. For example, the control-source device may receiveinput from the input circuit 1206 to put the control circuit 1202 in anassociation mode and/or communicate association messages from thecontrol-source device. The control circuit 1202 may receive informationfrom the input circuit 1206 (e.g., an indication that a button has beenactuated or sensed information). Each of the modules within the networkdevice 1200 may be powered by a power source 1210.

In addition to what has been described herein, the methods and systemsmay also be implemented in a computer program(s), software, or firmwareincorporated in one or more computer-readable media for execution by acontrol circuit(s), a computer(s), and/or a processor(s), for example.Examples of computer-readable media include electronic signals(transmitted over wired or wireless connections) andtangible/non-transitory computer-readable storage media. Examples oftangible/non-transitory computer-readable storage media include, but arenot limited to, read only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM),removable disks, optical media such as CD-ROM disks and digitalversatile disks (DVDs), subscriber identity module (SIM) cards, memorysticks, memory cards, etc.

While this disclosure has been described in terms of certain embodimentsand generally associated methods, alterations and permutations of theembodiments and methods will be apparent to those skilled in the art.Accordingly, the above description of example embodiments does notconstrain this disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterationsare also possible without departing from the spirit and scope of thisdisclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of flashing a lighting load, the methodcomprising: generating a controlled intensity for the lighting load;decreasing the controlled intensity from a high-end intensity to offacross a first period of time; after the controlled intensity has beendecreased from the high-end intensity to off, maintaining the controlledintensity at off for a second period of time; after the second period oftime, abruptly increasing the controlled intensity from off to thehigh-end intensity; after the controlled intensity has been increasedfrom off to the high-end intensity, maintaining the controlled intensityat the high-end intensity for a third period of time; and periodicallyrepeating the steps of decreasing, maintaining, increasing, andmaintaining.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing acontrol signal to a lighting control device that is controlling thelighting load, where the control signal is representative of thecontrolled intensity for the lighting load.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the first period of time is substantially one second, the secondperiod of time is substantially 1.5 seconds, and the third period oftime is substantially two seconds.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereinabruptly increasing the controlled intensity from off to the high-endintensity comprises increasing the controlled intensity from off to thehigh-end intensity using a fade rate of substantially zero seconds. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein the high-end intensity comprises afull-on setting.
 6. An apparatus for controlling a lighting load, theapparatus comprising: a control circuit configured to control the amountof power delivered to the lighting load, the control circuit configuredto flash the lighting load according to a flashing profile; wherein theflashing profile is characterized by at least one abrupt transitionbetween off and a high-end intensity, and at least one gradualtransition between off and the high-end intensity, the abrupt andgradual transitions repeated on a periodic basis.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 6, wherein the control circuit is configured to generate acontrolled intensity for controlling the lighting load, the controlcircuit configured to abruptly increase the controlled intensity fromoff to the high-end intensity to generate the abrupt transition in theflashing profile.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the controlcircuit is configured to decrease the controlled intensity from thehigh-end intensity to off across a first period of time to generate thegradual transition in the flashing profile.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein the control circuit is configured to maintain the controlledintensity at off for a second period of time after the controlledintensity has been decreased from the high-end intensity to off andbefore the controlled intensity is increased from off to the high-endintensity, the control circuit further configured to maintain thecontrolled intensity at the high-end intensity for a third period oftime after the controlled intensity has been increased from off to thehigh-end intensity.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the firstperiod of time is substantially one second, the second period of time issubstantially 1.5 seconds, and the third period of time is substantiallytwo seconds.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the control circuitis configured to abruptly increase the controlled intensity from off tothe high-end intensity using a fade rate of substantially zero seconds.12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the high-end intensity comprisesa full-on setting.
 13. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the controlcircuit is configured to abruptly increase the controlled intensity fromoff to the high-end intensity using a fade rate of substantially zeroseconds.
 14. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising: a controlsignal generation circuit configured to provide a control signal to alighting control device that is controlling the lighting load.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 6, further comprising: a load control circuitconfigured to control the amount of power delivered to the lightingload.
 16. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the high-end intensitycomprises a full-on setting.